Stress Chronologies in a Late Ottoman Bedouin Cemetery from Tall Hisban, Jordan: A Histological Evaluation of Stress during the Tanzimat Land Reforms

This study reconstructs the chronology of episodic stress experienced by individuals interred at a 19th-century Bedouin cemetery at Tall Hisban, located in modern Jordan. The cemetery was established during Late Ottoman rule and the implementation of the Tanzimat: a series of political, economic, and environmental reforms that targeted the Bedouin way of life, forcing land privatization and intensifying agricultural sedentism. It has been hypothesized that this period of heightened stress may have impacted the health and quality of life of the tribal populations inhabiting Hisban. Previous studies have suggested that individuals under two years experienced remarkable frailty during this period. The current study uses cross-sectional histology to identify and estimate the chronology of enamel growth disruptions in the permanent first molar sampled from six individuals (n=6). Accentuated striae (AS) were identified as dark, wide striae of Retzius that were visible over 75% of the crown and characterized by the decussation of the enamel prism. The chronology of these cessations in enamel production were calculated by dividing the distance along a single enamel prism between the defect and the neonatal line by the daily secretion rate of enamel. The earliest enamel growth disruption occurred at ten weeks, and the latest around 2.4 years of age. Although not statistically significant, on average, more defects formed in the first year of life compared to the second. Peaks in weekly AS frequency occurred at weeks 10, 15, 24, 57, and 73, all within the first year and a half of life. Episodic stress was recorded during both the period of exclusive breastfeeding as well as weaning, reflecting both maternal and infant stress patterns. Correlating with the increased mortality risk in late infancy at Hisban, the chronology of stress suggests that even among those who survived infancy, the first two years of life were a precarious developmental period subject to greater vulnerability to stress and heightened disease risk.